Supreme Court: No same-sex marriage in Virginia, yet

By Bill Mears, CNN Supreme Court Producer

updated 12:28 PM EDT, Thu September 11, 2014

April Dawn Breeden, left, and longtime partner Crystal Peairs are married by the Rev. Katie Hotze-Wilton at St. Louis City Hall on Wednesday, November 5. A Missouri judge on November 5 overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriages and ordered registrars to start issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples. More than 30 states and the District of Columbia allow marriage for same-sex couples.

Rachael Beierle, left, and Boise City Council President Maryanne Jordan, center, laugh at a joke during Amber Beierle's wedding vows Wednesday, October 15, at City Hall in Boise, Idaho. With Boise Mayor Dave Bieter out of town, Jordan officiated the wedding as acting mayor. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court found that same-sex marriage bans in Idaho and neighboring Nevada were unconstitutional.

Chad Biggs, left, and his fiance, Chris Creech, say their wedding vows in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, October 10, after a federal judge ruled that same-sex marriage can begin there.

From left, plaintiffs Moudi Sbeity; his partner, Derek Kitchen; Kody Partridge; and Partridge's wife, Laurie Wood, celebrate after a news conference in Salt Lake City on Monday, October 6. The U.S. Supreme Court had just cleared the way for legal same-sex marriages in five more states -- Virginia, Utah, Nevada, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Abbi Huber, left, and Talia Frolkis exit the City County Building in Madison, Wisconsin, after applying for a marriage license on October 6.

Rob MacPherson, right, and his husband, Steven Stolen, hug during a news conference at the American Civil Liberties Union in Indianapolis on October 6.

Mary Bishop, second from left, and Sharon Baldwin, right, celebrate with family and friends following their wedding ceremony on the courthouse steps in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on October 6.

Jennifer Melsop, left, and Erika Turner kiss after they were married in front of the Arlington County Courthouse in Arlington, Virginia, on October 6.

Pastor Carol Hill from Epworth United Methodist Church speaks during a marriage-equality ceremony at the Kathy Osterman Beach in Chicago on Sunday, June 1. June 1 marked the first day that all of Illinois' 102 counties could begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

William Roletter, left, and Paul Rowe, right, press close to each other after having their photo taken with their newly acquired marriage certificate Wednesday, May 21, at City Hall in Philadelphia.

Julie Engbloom, left, and Laurie Brown embrace after they were wed in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, May 19. A federal judge struck down the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

Jennifer Rambo, right, kisses her partner, Kristin Seaton, after their marriage ceremony in front of the Carroll County Courthouse in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, on Saturday, May 10. Rambo and Seaton were the first same-sex couple to be granted a marriage license in Eureka Springs after a judge overturned Amendment 83, which banned same-sex marriage in Arkansas.

Same-sex couples get their marriage licenses at the Oakland County Courthouse in Pontiac, Michigan, on Saturday, March 22, a day after a federal judge overturned Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage.

Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis, left, and Stephen Justesen acknowledge the crowd after being married in Salt Lake City on Friday, December 20. A federal judge struck down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage, saying it conflicted with the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. Many Utah counties began issuing marriage licenses before the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court temporarily blocked enforcement of the lower court ruling until the constitutional questions were fully resolved.

Hawaiian Gov. Neil Abercrombie, left, and former Sen. Avery Chumbley celebrate with a copy of the Star-Advertiser after Abercrombie signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Hawaii on Wednesday, November 13.

Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker officiates a wedding ceremony for Joseph Panessidi and Orville Bell at City Hall in October 2013. The state Supreme Court denied the state's request to prevent same-sex marriages temporarily, clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry.

A couple celebrates at San Francisco City Hall upon hearing about the U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage in June 2013. The high court cleared the way for same-sex couples in California to resume marrying after dismissing an appeal on Proposition 8 on jurisdictional grounds. The court also struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

At the state Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, Gov. Mark Dayton signs a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in May 2013.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell holds up legislation in May 2013 allowing same-sex couples to wed in the state.

Rhode Island state Sen. Donna Nesselbush, right, embraces a supporter after the Marriage Equality Act was signed into law at the statehouse in Providence in May 2013.

Jamous Lizotte, right, and Steven Jones pose for photos while waiting for a marriage license in Portland, Maine, in December 2012.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, center, shakes hands with Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller after signing a same-sex marriage bill in March 2012. The law was challenged, but voters approved marriage equality in a November 2012 referendum.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire celebrates after signing marriage-equality legislation into law on February 13, 2012. Voters there approved same-sex marriage in November 2012.

Phyllis Siegel, right, kisses her wife, Connie Kopelov, after exchanging vows at the Manhattan City Clerk's office on July 24, 2011, the first day New York's Marriage Equality Act went into effect.

In 2010, television reporter Roby Chavez, right, shares a moment with gay rights activist Frank Kameny during Chavez and Chris Roe's wedding ceremony in the nation's capital. Same-sex marriage became legal in Washington in March 2010.

Olin Burkhart, left, and Carl Burkhart kiss on the steps of the New Hampshire Capitol in January 2010 after the state's law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect.

Maine state Sen. Dennis Damon, left, hands Gov. John Baldacci the bill that the state Senate passed in May 2009 to affirm the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Amy Klein-Matheny, left, and her wife, Jennifer, exchange vows in Iowa after same-sex couples were allowed to marry there with a court ruling in April 2009.

Michael Miller, left, and Ross Zachs marry on the West Hartford Town Hall steps after same-sex marriages became legal in Connecticut on November 12, 2008.

Lara Ramsey, left, and her partner of eight years, Jane Lohmann, play with their 7-month-old son, Wyatt Ramsey-Lohmann. The two wed in 2004 after Massachusetts approved same-sex marriage. Massachusetts was the first state to do so.

(CNN) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday granted a request to delay enforcement of an appeals court ruling that overturned Virginia's same-sex marriage ban. That means gay and lesbian couples cannot legally wed in the state for now.

The Richmond-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit last month struck down Virginia's voter-approved ban, following what other state and federal judges have done in the past year when finding such laws to be unconstitutional.

The high court in coming weeks or months will announce whether it will have the final word, and accept pending petitions from one or more various states, including Virginia, to review their bans on same-sex marriage.

A binding ruling from the justices on the constitutional issues would be one of the most contentious and closely watched from the Supreme Court in recent years, and could apply to all 31 current states that forbid same-sex marriage.

Virginia's situation was somewhat unique since the state's governor and attorney general have refused to defend the ban in court. That left the court clerk in Prince William County-- a suburb of Washington -- to ask the high court for temporary legal relief.

Lawyers for the clerk applauded the Supreme Court's intervention.

"Virginians deserve an orderly and fair resolution to the question of whether they will remain free to preserve marriage as the union of a man and a woman in their laws," said Byron Babione, senior counsel of the Alliance Defending Freedom. "The Supreme Court acted wisely in restraining the lower court from implementing a ruling of this magnitude before the high court has a chance to decide the issue."

But Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring also supported postponing any same-sex marriages until the issue is fully settled.

"Although it is painful to keep Virginia's same-sex couples and their children waiting any longer to enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, the rule of law requires that this court be afforded the time needed to settle the question," said Herring.

The appeals ruling covered marriage laws in those states within the court's jurisdiction: Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Only Maryland has legalized same-sex marriage.

The divided three-judge panel had concluded that same-sex marriage "makes some people deeply uncomfortable. However, inertia and apprehension are not legitimate bases for denying same-sex couples due process and equal protection of the laws."

Gay rights groups urged swift action from the justices.

"This Supreme Court's stay of yet another freedom to marry ruling underscores the urgency of the court's granting a full review and bringing the country to national resolution by next year," said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry. "It is time for the Supreme Court to affirm what more than thirty courts have held in the past year: marriage discrimination violates the Constitution, harms families, and is unworthy of America."

The Virginia prohibition has effectively been in place since Colonial days, but only incorporated into the state's constitution in 2006.

The appeals decision continued a near-unbroken string of state and federal court victories nationwide in the past year, giving marriage-equality supporters unbridled encouragement that their ultimate goal will be achieved: striking all laws limiting the rights of homosexuals to wed.

The issue has been moving swiftly in the judicial front.

A federal appeals court on August 6 heard arguments in same-sex marriage bans in four states: Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee. A ruling is due by year's end. A separate appeals court early next month will hear two other Western states defend current prohibitions: Idaho and Nevada. , and Oregon.